Forty-Second and Sixth
by NotTooClever
Summary: Gwen and Miles watch the sun set over Bryant Park. The spot becomes meaningful to them.
1. Chapter 1

Following the incident with Wilson Fisk and Alchemax on Earth-1610, Miguel O'Hara, known as Spider-man 2099, developed devices to travel along the interdimensional web connecting all parallel universes. Of those devices he entrusted one to Peter Parker of Earth-616, one to Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, and one to Miles Morales of Earth-1610

...

With reckless abandon, Gwen and Miles alternated nights visiting each other's respective version of New York City, fighting crime as the most dynamic of duos. Generally he followed her lead, and always while in her dimension, but lately —at least when they were patrolling his home turf— Miles had been setting the pace; choosing their targets; taking the reigns. It'd been nearly three months since Kingpin's collider. They stayed busy enough; with the Peter Parker of Miles's Earth dead, and Wilson Fisk in prison, the gangs of New York wasted no time filling the power vacuum. In the slim windows when they were without thugs to pummel or petty crimes to interrupt, they found other ways to keep each other entertained. Sometimes that meant a harmless race, slinging webs through the East Village. Other times, it was a little less innocent.

On one such occasion —after a productive evening stopping a car chase, no less than three muggings, and leaving some attempted burglars webbed-up with a note in true Spidey fashion— Gwen and Miles lay suspended above Forty-Second Street and Sixth Avenue, in a massive web. It stretched from the roof of the Salesforce Tower to the forty-first story of the Bank of America Tower, with the couple centered over the traffic below. From their platform of bioengineered webbing, they were treated to an astounding view of the sun setting over Bryant Park, though neither had eyes for the scenery.

Miles swept a lock of fair hair away from her freckled cheek, securing it behind her ear. Gwen bit her lip, showing the ever-so-slight gap in her front teeth. He adored that smile, in fact it drove him absolutely mental. What most would regard as a flaw, made her all the more gorgeous in his eyes.

"Kiss me Spider-Man." She feigned a swoon. They giggled and locked their lips. "I can't thank you enough for saving my life earlier. I was so worried when we came across that mugger, and that other mugger. But boy did you come to my rescue!"

"All in a day's work ma'am."

She slapped his chest with playful indignance. "Oh, I just _love_ it when you call me _ma'am_" More giggles erupted from the pair. "What could I ever do to repay you Spider-Man?"

"No need ma'am, just knowing you're safe is all the reward I require!" He grinned a stupid grin.

Gwen snorted with laughter. "Good. Do you accept tips?"

"I've been known to on occasion."

Her hands explored his body, but always circled back to his chest. Likewise Miles let his hands wander over Gwen, but his favorite handles were always the back of her thighs. She squealed whenever he squeezed her there. His fingers ran over the skintight fabric of her spider-suit, he grabbed a healthy handful of her backside. Their hearts each skipped a beat. Subconsciously they matched the speed of each other's breath as they settled into a grinding motion.

The net of webbing bounced agreeably with their movement, adding to their rythym without impeding it. Gwen gripped the cords of their web with white knuckles. Miles held onto her hips just as tightly.

"I'm ready." She breathed, "Like now."

"Ready for what?" He teased.

"You know what—"

"Say it." All the playfulness had vanished from his tone.

"I want you."

"Be specific."

Her palms on his chest, her lips to his ear, "...I want your cock Miles. I want it inside me, like now."

"Take that off." Miles firmly instructed.

"That's too slow." Gwen begged, "I need to repair this suit anyway..."

He grinned goofily, it had been a fantasy of his to physically rip that tight costume off her. He made fists in the material near her groin and pulled the fabric apart, tearing, shredding it and exposing her pale body underneath. Miles was sure he'd never seen anything quite as perfect, as Gwen Stacy bathed in golden light by the setting sun, her suit torn and legs spread to expose herself; glistening, scintillating.

"May I?" Gwen similarly gripped his costume on either side of the swelling between his legs. Miles signaled his indifference, and she tore his suit in the same way. He sprung free of the material and their bare skin clapped together, producing a satisfying, wet smack. Neither had made a point of wearing underwear beneath their spider-suits.

They let their lungs and hearts, breathe and beat faster. Miles took hold of his groin at it's base, directing it's tip to slide up and down, to tap on her swollen concentration of nerves, to prod teasingly at her opening. Gwen couldn't take his tantalizing, she gasped, exhaling his name. Wrapping her legs around his middle, she took hold of his tattered suit, the next time he teased her entrance Gwen tugged at the torn fabric and squeezed his body toward her with her legs./p

The effect was perfect. He slid right in, with a deep satisfied sigh. The state of connection the two entered cannot be understated. Each of their senses was perfectly tuned to the other's. Their Spidey-sense in particular, synched to an identical frequency.

Miles felt the overwhelming urge to tell her right then how much he loved her. But he thought of how hard it'd been for Gwen to let some of her walls down, to let him in, and he patiently held his tongue.

As the setting sun finally vanished over the New York Public Library, the young super-couple made love, hanging over four hundred feet above the pavement and traffic below them.

...

Miles and Gwen were inseparable, so too were their super alter egos.

Until the designer of their dimensional portal devices paid them a visit one day, on Earth-1610. Miguel had a grave, earnest look about him; he was there to deliver bad news that the young pair was not ready to hear. He did his best to explain. Apparently, his instruments had been recording abnormalities in the interdimensional web. Particularly between Earths 1610 and 65.

"I know it all sounds a bit... Sci-fi." Miguel admitted. Gwen and Miles exchanged a look of mock surprise. He continued, "But in layman's terms, the more you travel between two worlds; the more you risk creating a permanent _gate_ between dimensions, for want of a better word."

"And I take it we don't want one of those." Gwen already sounded defeated.

"No." Miguel looked more solemn than ever, "This wouldn't be a physical portal that you could walk through. It would be more akin to creating a black hole on the surface of the planet... Hypothetically, your dimensions could bleed into one another until both your Earths were destroyed. And then —again hypothetically— this gate could continue to spread, until both dimensions collapse entirely."

There was a moment of silent contemplation, then, "Well, fine... I'll use it one last time." Miles said decisively. "A one way trip. I'm not that attached to my Earth anyway."

A tear slid to the corner of Gwen's sad smile, "No Miles. You know you can't do that. You can't survive in my dimension... and I can't in yours."

"I don't care, I'll spend as much time as I've got with you."

She shook her head, "For how long? It'd be over before we knew it. And then I'd have to bury you — just like Peter." The tears streamed from both her eyes, "I couldn't."

O'Hara gave the young couple some privacy once he'd gotten the firm impression they were on track to the right conclusion. There was no other way after all.

His brain was restless, there had to be a way they hadn't thought of, a loophole he could exploit. Miles racked his memory for any scrap of useful information. At a loss, Gwen wrapped her arms about the boy and buried her face in his chest. Miles returned her embrace, and Gwen's shoulders shook with silent sobs.

While Miles, still in denial, continued searching his mind for a solution, Gwen thought of a silver lining, "Plus," she said with a little sniffle, "this Earth needs you. They need Spider-Man. Who's gonna make sure Fisk stays locked up and no one takes his place on the streets?"

"There... there has to be a way." Miles pleaded. Gwen just shook her head, her eyes filled with more tears. "It's not fair. We only just started... I never even said..."

"Never said what?" Gwen asked in a sweet whisper, preparing for the answer she expected.

Miles gave a deep sigh. "You know what. And I can't say it, 'cause I know how hard it's been for you to open up to me. And I can't put you on the spot like that."

"Try me." She said. When Miles still wouldn't respond she met his gaze forcefully, "Miles, just say it."

"Fine, but you don't have to say it back."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh my god you dork... I love you too." Saying goodbye would be near impossible now.

...

Gwen spent the next week in the wrong universe, not leaving his side for a moment. Her _glitches_ became more frequent and more painful. Miles insisted that she endure no more pain for him, and Miguel warned that if she stayed any longer her molecular structure could suffer lasting damage.

So with the most bitter farewell either had said, Gwen reluctantly returned to Earth-65, for good. But not before they made one another a promise; that each year on this day, and in their respective dimensions, Miles and Gwen would sit on the corner of Forty-Second and Sixth, forty one stories up, and gaze out over Bryant Park.

They weren't able to see one another, or speak to one another, but once a year, the pair kept their promise. They made their separate ways to the same place, and sat perhaps a foot apart, but a dimension away.

**Ending loosely inspired by Philip Pullman's****_ The Amber Spyglass._**


	2. Epilogue

**I debated whether to post this or not... Ultimately, if you like the original ending, please stop here. If you crave a happier finale... read on**.

* * *

"I think Murdock is staying locked up for good this time." Gwen told herself, and an impossibly distant Miles Morales. "I'll never get over the fact that he's a hero on your Earth..."

She absently plucked at the webbing she was suspended in, above their familiar meeting place. Finding that she could never wait for their annual redezvous to talk to him, and since he couldn't respond anyhow, Gwen made the trip to their vantage point more regularly than the once a year they'd agreed on. In the half a decade since her promise, she'd been to that intersection dozens of times. It had only been two weeks since the last time she'd scaled the sky scrapers to have her routinely one-sided conversation.

Anyway, locking up _my _New York's Kingpin got me thinking about _yours_... I wonder..." She bit her lip, and sighed. "I guess I wonder a lot."

The sun touched the horizon, and Gwen watched as it dipped lower, and lower. As it fell, it painted the sky over the park in rich and vivid tones of scarlet and burgundy. The wind played with her exposed hair, and her loose hood. A tear rolled down her cheek and she cursed under her breath, rolling her eyes and brushing it away frustratedly.

"I shouldn't be so optimistic about Murdock. It's childish. _Stupid_." She spat the word. "He'll just run the streets from in prison by proxy. He'll be just as—" Gwen stopped. An idea was taking shape. "_Proxy_." She whispered the word.

Before the plan was solid Gwen was opening a portal to Earth-928; she needed to talk to Miguel. She didn't want to visualize it clearly in her mind before she could get his opinion. She didn't dare get her hopes up...

She contacted this dimension's Spider-man, and swung through the distopian streets of 2099's Nueva York as fast as spiderly possible to meet up with him.

The roof they ran into each other on was spacious, cement, and not unlike the rooftops of her New York, save the excessive number of satellite dishes, radio antennae, and other transmitters/receivers she couldn't guess at the function of. Gwen was breathless, she skipped pleasantries and proper greetings, explaining her idea between deep breaths:

Instead of traveling back and forth directly between dimensions A and B, one could take a random route through three or more dimensions, acting like proxy servers for traveling data. A different path every time—theoretically—without weakening the bond directly between the two dimensions in question...

Miguel listened silently. If his mask hasn't obscured it, Gwen would have seen the genuine excitement his expression conveyed.

He took her back to his lab, and over the following twenty-odd consecutive hours, Gwen Stacy and Miguel O'Hara developed new programming for their inter-dimensional portal devices. Along with a minor hardware overhaul that would allow for multiple portals to open simultaneously, their new programming would select a random sequence of dimensions ending with your specific destination, and open a series of portals through each one. The effect, once complete, was an effective short hallway of windows into other worlds; if you've ever faced two mirrors to one another, you'll have an idea of this passageway's appearance.

The first time she opened the chain of portals Gwen was agog, between each of the windows a glimpse of another universe was visible, all so similar but none identical. Gwen walked through. She found she had to be careful with her step, in one of the dimensions, the rooftop that was consistent to all the others was simply gone. However, the portals were close enough together that she could simply step through that world, without ever actually setting foot in it.

At the end of the hallway-of-portals, Gwen inhaled the air of Earth-1610 for the first time in over five years. It was both familiar and alien.

She took several deep breaths, unable to believe her eyes, ears, and nose, before receiving a jolt to the sense she trusted most.

Gwen snapped around a hundred and eighty degrees, webslingers primed and aimed, neck hairs erect.

There he was, impossibly, beaming his smile that she'd missed more than anything. He became blurry as her vision filled with tears. It felt like a dream. His hand braced her shoulder, "_Hey_."


End file.
